Are you putting all your focus on traditional advertising?
At first glance, marketing and advertising may seem like one in the same. But in practice, they’re much different.
Radio ads have become less effective. Direct mail doesn’t pack the punch it used to. Running your practice on referrals alone has become far more difficult. As new technologies surface, and as user behavior changes, the impact of traditional advertising is diminishing. Relying on these mediums alone is no longer an option.
When analyzing what is best for your practice, ask yourself these three questions:
- Which strategies target your ideal patient?
- Which mediums are the most cost-effective?
- Which platforms deliver measureable results?
The Difference Between Marketing and Advertising
Rather than offering a comprehensive strategy for representing your practice, traditional advertising provides a single statement of value. It typically comes through conventional media. As a result, it tends to be brief, disposable, and oftentimes shallow. Advertising is more detached than marketing, as it makes little effort to connect with patients on a personal level.
Imagine these scenarios:
- You advertise that you offer the lowest fees. You market that chiropractic care is essential for lifelong health.
- You advertise that you provide chiropractic adjustments. You market the benefits of an adjustment for back pain with educational content.
- You advertise that your practice is located in Chicago, IL. You market yourself by telling prospective patients in your area why they should choose you.
- You advertise for a week. You market all day, every day.
Sure, marketing takes work. But it tells a compelling story. Effective marketing shows that you are a leader in chiropractic health – someone patients can trust. Does a postcard with your name do that? Not so much.
How Online Chiropractic Marketing Attracts Your Ideal Patient
It’s not easy to persuade prospective patients to believe in you. If they haven’t met you in person, how could they? Digital platforms provide a way for you to make that much-needed personal connection with prospective patients. Through your chiropractic website, you can tailor-fit your marketing efforts accordingly.
Internet marketing enables you to cultivate relationships through personalized communication. It helps you target your ideal patient, which leads to better patient retention. When a lead becomes a patient, you stay connected with them through various online strategies. This includes everything from emails to blogging to surveys and social media.
Taking your efforts online also gives you better insight into how your marketing dollars are performing. Digital campaigns help you track and measure specific goals. For instance, the Perfect Patients New Patient Tracker shows our clients exactly how many patients their website is converting. This contrasts with traditional advertising, where it’s more difficult to track who is listening, reading, or viewing your ads.
A direct mail piece may provide some results. But these results are often short-term and inconsistent, especially if you don’t have a website to complement your ad. Your website works around the clock, providing a steady flow of new patients. Therefore, any traditional advertising you do should be done in conjunction with, not in place of, building your online presence.